Nature is good for the soul. Walking in the woods can help with depression, and reminders of the natural world such as plants and scenes of wild places can make us more cooperative, less impulsive, and just plain nicer. There's even evidence that time spent in green spaces helps children'scognitive development. On top of that, the authors of a new study report, it might also have something to do with strong communities and lower crime rates.
"Although a considerable literature exists on ... individual well-being outcomes of contact with nature, little is known about its social consequences," writes a team led by Netta Weinstein, a senior lecturer in social and environmental psychology at the University of Cardiff. Yet there's reason to suspect there are social consequences. If, for example, nature promotes a sense of connection with the outside world, that might extend to include other humans as well, and that could, in turn, foster community and maybe even fight crime. It's an important question, too, in an era when a growing fraction of humanity lives in cities—54 percent today, and an estimated 66 percent by 2050, according to United Nations projections.
[For more of this story, written by Nathan Collins, go to http://www.psmag.com/health-an...-crime-and-community]
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